BK 5 - Chapter 5 - Watching
The next morning, the house woke up to the smell of breakfast being made. Everyone got dressed and ran downstairs to find the source of the delicious smell. They all stopped when they saw Randy in the kitchen cooking. He turned and waved.
"Good morning. I thought part of my duties would be to cook because you're are so busy. I made cinnamon rolls, bacon, and scrambled eggs with ham, peppers, onions, and cheese. I hope you don't mind me going through your refrigerator." Lisa walked over and looked at the gooey cinnamon rolls, and her stomach growled.
"You're forgiven." She said as they all loaded up their plates.
"Where did you learn to cook like this?" Breanne asked while taking another bite of her eggs. They were delicious. She didn't know what seasoning he used in them, but they were the best eggs she'd ever had. Randy smiled.
"My grandmother taught me. She raised me, but I was on my own when she died. I love to cook." He replied. Once again, they all thought that he was similar to them.
"I guess we should feed the troll in the basement. She's not getting any of this good food." Lisa said. She went to the cabinet and got a packet of instant plain oatmeal. Mixing it with some water, she heated it in the microwave. It was clunky and looked nasty, but she thought it was perfect for their guest.
Lisa and Jayce went to the basement door and turned on the dim light. When they reached the bottom, Jackie was nowhere to be seen. They searched the entire basement, but she was gone. It was as though she was never there. They ran upstairs.
"Did any of you let Jackie out?" Lisa asked, looking at Randy. Everyone shook their heads. Randy held his hands up.
"I haven't seen her since last night when you took her down there. I swear I didn't let her go." Lisa believed him. He already knew he was on thin ice.
"She disappeared. The ropes that were binding her are gone, too. No one could have gotten in without us knowing, so where did she go?" Lisa sat down with a huff. Her grandpa Trey would have never let a prisoner disappear. They all jumped when Breanne's phone began ringing. She looked at the others in surprise.
"It's Atzi." She put the phone on speaker and set it on the table.
"Hi, Atzi. I have you on speaker, and everyone is here." Breanne said.
"Thank goodness you're okay. I have my book back, and I know who took it. She's not what she seems; you need to stay away from her. She's a witch from a dark coven that practices black magic. They have been after my book for centuries." Randy gasped. He couldn't believe Jackie was a witch. She had seemed like any other crazy human.
"She said she was also looking for relics. Is she talking about the necklaces Xipil gave me and Dustin?" Breanne asked.
"Yes. They believe the turquoise holds our power. They don't realize that it's only a piece of it. The rest comes from our tribal magic. As long as they believe you're in possession of anything that relates to us, you're in danger. Do you have room for Xipil and me to stay with you?" They all looked at each other in confusion. They were shifters and vampires. What would the witch do to protect them?
"We have room, but we don't understand. Why are we in danger, and what can you do to help?" Lisa asked her point blank.
"You may have strength and speed, but I have magic. I can counter her black magic and keep you safe. She knows I'm close to you, so she'll target you until she gets what she wants. I'm sorry I dragged you into this. I thought the book would be safe with you, and she would never know it was out of my possession." Lisa knew they were all thinking the same thing. Couldn't their family go more than a few months without someone chasing or trying to kill them?
"Are you bringing the boys with you?" Lisa asked. She missed Johnny and Cole.
"We didn't want to crowd you," Atzi replied.
"The more the merrier. We'll see you when you get here." Breanne said before hanging up. It looked like the house was getting fuller by the minute.
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**Downtown San Diego**
Jackie shook her head in disbelief. She couldn't believe the shifters and vampires thought they could keep her tied up. She hadn't planned on showing her hand so soon, but she had things to do, and sitting in a dark basement wasn't one of them. As soon as the door was locked, she chanted a spell and was back home. They'd figure it out soon enough.
When the vampires knocked her and Randy out, she had let her guard down. That was the only reason they could take her down before she could react. She would have known they were there if she had paid better attention. Oh, well, at least she was able to get into the house. If she'd had more time, she'd done some searching herself, but there were too many of them there, and they let that idiot Randy stay. She should have known better than to trust a human.
She looked down from her penthouse at the people below. She wasn't one of those witches that lived in the woods or underground. Jackie liked to be around people. She tried to blend in as much as possible with the humans. She wanted that book from Atzi; that and the relics were all she needed to achieve her goals. Everyone knew the magic of the Native American witches was the most powerful. If she could get her hands on that book, it held the key to their magic. The werelion family probably didn't even know what they were looking at. Yes, it contained information that was relevant to them, but it also had information on Native American magic. That's the part Jackie wanted, and she would have it. Soon, very soon.
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Across the street from the large house, a man watched. He'd been watching them since they moved in. He wanted to learn their patterns and know what family members were staying there. He would have liked to target the real people responsible up near Sacramento. Those members of the family were temporarily untouchable. So he was going to target their children and grandchildren. He may only be a human, but that didn't make him weak. His dad had taught him a lot, and taking down a shifter was a lesson he planned on using.
He saw some of them leaving, but he didn't move. If they looked over, they would see him, but they didn't know him, so he wasn't worried. Just like yesterday, the same people left. He'd seen the man break in the front door and wondered if it was random or targeted. When the man ran out with a large book, he figured it was targeted. The pregnant, blind one was the only one there that he knew of. When the police came, he watched as they chased the man.
When the family came home, he knew it would outrage them that someone had been in their home. He threw his cigarette down and leaned against the tree. Oh, werelion family, you haven't seen anything yet. You won't know what hit you.
